Julie Jensen McDonald
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
June 22, 1929
Julie Jensen McDonald | |
|---|---|
| Born | Julie Jensen June 22, 1929 Near Fiscus, Iowa, US |
| Died | November 25, 2013 (aged 84) Pleasant Valley, Iowa, US |
| Occupation(s) | Author, educator |
Julie Jensen McDonald (June 22, 1929 – November 25, 2013) was an American author and educator. Her works include novels and a book about small towns in Iowa and Illinois. She won multiple awards for her work.
McDonald was born on June 22, 1929, and was born a mile away from Fiscus, Iowa, on a farm. After her father Alfred Jensen died in a tractor accident, McDonald and her mother Myrtle moved to Harlan, Iowa, where she attended elementary school. She became interested in writing as a child and her mother would read McDonald's stories. In sixth grade, McDonald wrote a school play titled "The Whispering Mummy" and its reception encouraged McDonald to write another play. The second play was not as well received as the first one so McDonald decided to write poetry instead. After writing poetry for a few years, McDonald decided to become a journalist. McDonald was unable to join her high school newspaper, but she became an unpaid apprentice at a weekly newspaper. She attended the University of Iowa for journalism and graduated with a bachelor's degree. For one year, McDonald was the woman's editor for the Rockford Register Star in Rockford, Illinois.[1] In the 1950s, McDonald acted for two productions by the Quad City Music Guild.[2] On May 16, 1952, she married Elliott R. McDonald and they first had a daughter named Beth. When Beth was a few weeks old and they were living in Washington, D.C., McDonald decided to write fiction. They later had a son named Elliot Jr.[1]
